


End of the Rope

by fiveclawedfics



Series: Livejournal refugees [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Captain America has a terrible horrible no-good very bad day, Drabble, Gen, Heroes out shopping, Work stress, Written before CA:WS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 00:20:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10685904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiveclawedfics/pseuds/fiveclawedfics
Summary: "Captain America is a JERK!""...Well, fuck you, lady."





	End of the Rope

It's tough being Captain America.  
  
Let's be clear here. Being Steve Rogers? Piece of cake. Being Captain Rogers? It's in his bones. Being an Avenger? Hey, Steve always wanted to save the day.  
  
But being Captain America? That's a whole other story.  
  
Captain America is a symbol. Captain America is a moral titan, a piece of a greater past, a representation of America at its best. Captain America cares about you--yes, _you_ \--and every single American, and quite possibly every single soul in the world. Captain America bakes apple pie, kisses babies, and punches Hitler in the face.  
  
Steve tries to live up to that name. Really, he does, and everyone he knows says that he succeeds. It's not about showing off, proving that he's better than everyone else (as some pundits claim). America has gained a lot in the decades he's spent on ice, but it's lost a piece of its soul. Cynicism has replaced optimism, and the country suffers as a result. America needs a symbol of something better, something more than mindless consumerism. Something like Captain America.  
  
But Steve Rogers is just a human, and like a humans he has shitty days and shitty moods.  
  
Today's a good example.  
  
HYDRA had attacked an entire base--an entire base!--in Uzbekistan this week. Hundreds of SHIELD agents and civilian contractors dead, SHIELD tech in the hands of some of the worst people on the planet, and the Uzbek government was throwing a fit. The Avengers had got the call at three in the morning and jetted half-way across the world two hours later. HYDRA had scampered as soon as the quinjet landed. They'd been able to stop most of the invaders, but several of the convoys had vanished with the tech they had stolen. Some sort of HYDRA teleportation doohickey.  
  
Few Americans know, or care.  
  
The SHIELD intelligence branch has been working overtime to find the cell that attacked the Uzbek base, and the Avengers are on stand-by waiting for the the go signal. In the meantime, Steve does paperwork. Lots of paperwork. Paperwork charting every casualty, every piece of damage, every angry official, everything.  
  
After three days of paperwork, Natasha breaks the door handle and drags Steve out of the office. "Enough, Steve. You'll drive yourself nuts."  
  
"I need to finish it," Steve protests, even as Natasha tows him towards the garage.  
  
"You're a commanding officer. You have lackeys for paperwork." That wasn't how it worked at all, but Steve knew better than to fight Natasha in this mood. He could win, probably, but he'd pay for it later. "We're doing something normal. Grocery shopping. That sounds good."  
  
To his surprise, shopping does improve his mood, right up until he presses the gas pedal a little too hard as he backs out of the parking spot. The car shoots backward, T-boning a passing car.  
  
Steve climbs out. Looks at the damage. Buries his fingers in his hair. The weight of the past week comes toppling down on him.  
  
The other driver gets out to gasp at the wreckage of her car. Then she looks over to Steve and does a double take. Steve suppresses a groan. Revealing his secret identity had seemed like a good idea at the time--it made him accountable to the country--but, in retrospect, he should have listened to Nick.  
  
"CAPTAIN AMERICA IS A JERK!" the lady shrieks.  
  
"WELL, FUCK YOU, LADY!" Steve shrieks back.  
  
After the paparazzi cycle has run its course and the SHIELD lawyers have done their work, Nick asks/orders Tony to keep an eye on Steve when the guy gets stressed. Take him out for a night on the town when he's down--that sort of thing. Captain America is a symbol after all, one that the world desperately needs. Nick Fury will do everything in his power to keep that image untarnished.  
  
No matter what Steve Rogers may do in a bad mood, it can never compete with Tony Stark in a good one.


End file.
